Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar has once again firmly denied widespread rumours that he used the drug Ozempic to achieve his dramatic physical transformation last year. In a candid conversation on the Manyavar podcast, Johar addressed the speculation head-on while opening up about his lifelong struggles with weight, extreme diets, and the health discoveries that finally led to his successful journey.
‘Our Profession Doesn’t Allow Routine’: Karan on Hollywood's Weight Loss Pressure
Karan Johar explained that losing weight has never been a simple task for him, contrary to popular belief. He highlighted the unpredictable nature of his filmmaking profession as a major hurdle. "It's all very simple if you regiment your life. If you give it some kind of routine... which can't happen in our job, especially in my profession," Johar stated. He pointed out the lack of weekends or national holidays and the constant, stressful work calls that disrupt any attempt at a structured lifestyle.
Hiroo Johar's Blunt Honesty and College-Day Triggers
Reflecting on his younger years, Johar shared the contrasting perspectives of his parents. While his father, the late producer Yash Johar, believed his son had mere "puppy fat" and could become a film hero, his mother Hiroo Johar was brutally honest. "My mother used to disagree and say, 'What are you saying, Yash? He is so fat, so large,'" Karan recalled, adding with a laugh, "Punjabi moms are not always deluded."
The filmmaker revealed that his first serious attempt to lose weight was triggered when he entered college and had to swap school uniforms for regular clothes. "You reach college and you see everyone is way thinner than you. Somehow, that really shook me up," he admitted. This led to experimenting with extreme diets like the General Motors diet, which he followed for a month until he fell sick, and the Atkins diet, which caused him to faint during a college accounts class, leading his mother to ban it.
The Real Reason: Medical Diagnosis, Not Ozempic
Directly confronting the Ozempic rumours, Karan Johar was unequivocal in his denial. "Contrary to what people think that I took Ozempic or whatever, I am quite not," he asserted. The real breakthrough came from comprehensive medical tests at a health retreat. The tests revealed two critical underlying issues: acute gluten and lactose intolerance, and irregular thyroid levels.
"I realised that I am acutely gluten and lactose intolerant. I actually didn't realise... I was eating roti and not rice. But in reality, rice and potato are my friends," he explained. Furthermore, he was put on thyroid medication after discovering his levels were "all over the place."
Johar outlined the dietary changes that finally worked: completely removing gluten and sugar, and switching to almond milk. "The weight just went down with that and the thyroid medication," he said. On the fitness front, the 51-year-old revealed he currently swims and plays paddle ball, having previously played at Shah Rukh Khan's residence, Mannat.
Karan Johar's detailed account provides a transparent look into the challenges of weight management in a high-pressure industry, emphasizing that his transformation was a result of medical intervention and dietary correction, not a quick-fix solution.
